Millions of people die or suffer severe impairments due illnesses spread by mosquitoes, such as malaria, dengue virus, West Nile Virus, and Zika virus. Mosquito populations spread quickly and spend the early stages of their lifecycle predominantly in standing water, including local bodies of stagnant water such as puddles and backyard ponds. Many commercially available larvicides can be toxic and pose safety risks for the public, particularly children, when used in local bodies of water. There is a need for safe, non-toxic methods for controlling growth of mosquito larvae. The present disclosure relates to nontoxic methods for quickly inactivating mosquito larvae.